Our Valentines

Hope you all had a wonderful Valentine's Day!

Around the end of January it finally clicked that we actually get to have lots of fun for holidays now! Lorelei is finally at the age where she really gets excited and enjoys everything, so bring on the creativity and fun activities! :)

Some of our Vday Projects

We enjoyed decorating the house, making a place mat, making and mailing Valentines, making and frosting sugar cookies, and of course, EVERYTHING could be made into hearts! From toast for breakfast to any sandwiches she may have. :) Amazing how much better things taste when they look special. We also learned that Lorelei thinks decorating cookies means piling them with as many M&M's as possible...after dumping out the entire bag, I'm thinking we'll save those for the last few cookies next time. :)

We actually had a special breakfast Sunday morning since we knew we wouldn't have time Monday with Brad going to work. Brad even volunteered to make it! I found a recipe for some special french toast and it was AMAZING. Felt like were eating at a fancy restaurant...minus the paper plates we were eating on because I forgot to run the dishwasher... ;) Including the recipe in case you want to try it!

Chocolate and Strawberry Stuffed French Toast
Ingredients

* 4 slices French or Italian loaf (not a baguette) -- 1-inch (2 cm) thick
* 1/4 cup (50 mL) cream cheese
* 1/4 cup (50 mL) semisweet chocolate chips
* 1/4 cup (50 mL) strawberry jam
* 2 eggs
* 1/4 cup (50 mL) milk
* 2 tbsp. (30 mL) granulated sugar
* 1 tsp. (5 mL) vanilla extract
* 2 tbsp. (15 mL) butter
* powdered sugar for dusting
* maple syrup and fresh strawberries as accompaniment

Cooking Instructions

1. With a sharp knife, cut a pocket into the side of each slice of bread -- cutting almost, but not quite all the way, to the edges. Spread the inside of each pocket with 1 tbsp. (15 mL) of the cream cheese, stuff with 1 tbsp. (15 mL) of the chocolate chips and spoon in 1 tbsp. (15 mL) of the strawberry jam. Depending on the size of the pocket and the slice of bread, you may not be able to use the full amount of stuffing ingredients -- just play it by ear and use as much as will fit inside. Squash the bread closed to enclose the filling.
2. In a bowl, beat together the eggs, milk, sugar and vanilla. Dip the stuffed bread slices into the egg mixture, turning to soak both sides evenly. Arrange on a plate.
3. In a large skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the stuffed bread to the pan and cook, turning each slice over several times to let it brown evenly and allow the heat to penetrate and melt the chocolate -- about 5 or 6 minutes total. Dust lightly with icing sugar and serve with powdered sliced fresh strawberries and maple syrup.

How We Spent Valentine' Day

We decided it would be fun to have a little scavenger hunt for the Valentine's gifts. (Although we are not as original as I thought...apparently my friend Verna did it too, as did one of her friends!) I even found a "treasure chest" on sale at Hobby Lobby! (Yay for living a few minutes away from there now!) We gave Lorelei 5 clues to find her special surprise and she was very excited about playing a game. Took her a while to get the idea, but she got the hang of it towards the end. We put something we loved about her on one side of the card and then the clue on the other side. We will have to remember not to put one in the frig next time, as she was ready to eat some strawberries instead of finish her hunt! :) She also loved being able to eat one candy before breakfast!

Then the kids and I were on our own. We had to make a quick Target run for pizza sauce to make our special Valentine pizzas, shaped like hearts of course, with heart pepperoni's too! :) Thankfully Makin napped so we could make them and catch a late lunch.

When Brad got home he grilled chicken and we had Alfredo, broccoli and of course, heart shaped bread sticks. And chocolate covered strawberries for desert!

Really...we just like an excuse to eat special wonderful food...good thing its only once a year!

Cuteness

First Valentine's Day
(the sweater lasted the entirety of the photo shoot as it was a gorgeous 70 some degrees! both kids ended up shedding their red so they could wear short sleeves)

Lorelei loving her strawberries while Brad was cooking. Then new sunglasses and enjoying painting with water on the balcony, her latest favorite hobby.

We are so blessed!